In 1958 a school band The Jokers was formed in Haarlem. Members were Hans Alta (bass), Rein van den Broek (trumpet), Tim Griek (drums, he was the producer for the first Brainbox (3) album, he died in a car crash in 1988) and Huib van Kampen (guitar/saxophone). They played covers of well known songs. In 1965 the name was changed to Incrowd. In 1967 the name had already changed to Ekseption because there was another Dutch band with the name Incrowd.
The band was also joined by Rob Kruisman, who became the new bandleader. Later that year also Rick Van Der Linden (keyboards) joined the group. He was a classically trained musician who finished Conservatory and had played with several jazz- and popgroups, one of them was the Occasional Swing Combo. They met each other, because both bands played at the same gig. Van den Broek was impressed by the playing of Van der Linden and asked him to join Ekseption. In 1968 the band entered the Loosdrechtse Jazz Concours and won the first prize, a record deal with Phonogram.
At the end of the year the band was about to record their debut album with producer Tony Vos. By this time Alta and Griek were replaced by bass guitarist Cor Dekker (he died in 2005) and drummer Peter de Leeuwe. As the first single "Beethoven's The Fifth" was chosen and it became an instant hit for the band. The follow up singles "Rhapsody in Blue" and "Air" became big hits as well. Because of this chart success Van der Linden became the new bandleader. In 1969 Kruisman left the band because he was not happy with the new musical approach. Shortly after that also co-founder Van Kampen left the band (he dies in 2003). He left the music business, and became a music teacher.
1969 - Ekseption 1
01. The 5Th 03:25
02. Dharma For One 03:30
03. Little X Plus 03:32
04. Sabre Dance 03:48
05. Air 02:53
06. Ritual Fire Dance 02:18
07. Rhapsody In Blue 04:03
08. This Here 04:13
09. Dance Macabre Opus 40 02:24
10. Canvas 02:29
1970 - Beggar Julia's Time Trip
01. Ouverture 03:23
02. Prologue 02:21
03. Julia 02:22
04. Flying Power 00:32
05. Adagio 03:45
06. Space I 00:44
07. Italian Concerto 05:03
08. Concerto 03:53
09. Space II 00:25
10. Pop Giant 03:54
11. Space III 00:21
12. Feelings 03:08
13. Epilogue 00:57
14. Finale 04:00
1970 - Ekseption 3
01. Peace Planet Badinerie from Suite No.2 In B Minor 03:36
02. B 612 04:12
03. Morning Rose 03:10
04. Piece For Symphonic And Rock Group In A Minor - Part One - Passacaglia Part Two - Painting 05:55
05. The Lamplighter (Prelude And Fugue In A Minor) 03:04
06. Bottle Mind 02:50
07. On Sunday They Will Kill The World 03:26
08. Another History 04:38
09. Rondo Piano Concerto No3 In C Minor Opus 37 05:23
1971 - Ekseption 00.04
01. Ave Maria Medley, Fugue In D Minor - Ave Maria - Prelude No. 1 In C 02:37
02. Body Party 03:36
03. Monlope, Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 04:59
04. Monkey Dance 02:43
05. Choral 04:02
06. Partita No.2 In C Minor 05:45
07. Piccadilly Sweet 13:25
1972 - Ekseption 5
01. Introduction 00:40
02. Siciliano 03:20
03. Vivace 02:52
04. For Example / For Sure 09:07
05. Virginal 04:33
06. A La Turka 02:29
07. Midbar Session 10:00
08. Pie 01:33
09. My Son 05:18
10. Finale 03:31
2019 - Non Album Singles (A&B Sides) & Single Versions 1967-1972
01. Talk About Tomorrow 02:30
02. Mojo Ann 02:42
03. Laura 02:52
04. From Africa With Love 03:27
05. Jesus Joy Of Man's Desiring 02:56
06. Cantita - Part 1 02:25
07. Cantita - Part 2 03:26
08. Bank Ekseptional - Part 1 02:07
09. Bank Ekseptional - Part 2 03:02
